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Thomas Halloway (Earth-616)/Expanded History
___TOC___ Preface The history of the Angel spans some 70 years of publications. Below is his complete history. For an abridged version see the Abridged History of Thomas Halloway. Origin Thomas Halloway was the son of a prison warden; his mother died in childbirth. The warden raised Thomas in isolation, in the prison itself, and was instructed by various experts who had taught him "everything." Thomas was also taught by the prisoners, who passed on the secrets of the underworld. When Thomas discovered that one of the prisoners was about to be electrocuted he saved him. For this deed Thomas was dubbed an "angel" by the inmate . However, despite his strong sense of justice, Thomas Halloway began studying medicine, trained in this profession by Dr. Lin . By 1938, Halloway was a doctor working in a New York City hospital. There he became the physician caring for the elderly Matt Hawk, known as the legendary western gun fighter Two-Gun Kid. Hawk, who had spent a number of years in the future, witnessing the so-called "age of heroes" and told stories of these adventures to Thomas. Thomas simply dismissed them as "pulp magazine" fantasies of a very ill man, and rejected Hawk's claims that this age was soon coming, and that Halloway would be a part of it. One night, Hawk died suddenly in his sleep and left Halloway a gift: His pair of six shooters and mask, leaving a card stating "From one hero to another". Halloway's ability to dismiss Hawk's claims soon became impossible in 1939'' when Phineas Horton revealed his new creation the Human Torch. On the night the Torch broke free and caused massive fires, due to the lack of control he had over his powers, Halloway was out in the streets and instinctively came to the rescue of those who were endangered by the Torch's flames. After the crisis, Halloway once more looked at the Two-Gun Kid's old guns and mask and realized the old man had been telling the truth. Halloway then developed the identity of the Angel and became one of the first crime fighting vigilantes during the dawn of the age of heroes. He also began chronicling this point in history in a diary he dubbed the "Marvels Project" . In his first recorded adventure as the Angel, Thomas had already established himself as a known crime fighter, was contacted by the authorities to help stop the Six Big Men gang. The Angel used lethal force, killing most of the members before capturing their leader Dr. Lang . The Angel next travelled to Hong Kong to investigate the validity of an apparent treasure map that led the way to the lost temple of Alano. The Angel would defend the maps keeper, Smithsonian employee Jane Freeman who was targeted by a man named Lelong a member of the original expedition to Alano who sought to claim the treasure for himself. Travelling to Poland, the Angel would have his first clash with the Nazis, stopping the air raid on a Polish town by the Death-Bird Squadron . World War II 1940 As the Angel continued to clean up crime in New York City, he became well known in the paper for his heroic efforts. He also began keeping tabs on all the various masked heroes that were appearing in the city and around the world . The Angel next clashed with a strange voodoo cult, who captured a young woman as their next sacrifice. The hero battled their leader the Sacred One, who died in one of his own death traps. With the Sacred One's death, his thralls were freed from his control . Later a mobster named Brinke would hire the aid of a giant brute named Brute to kill his boss so he could take over their mob. This attempt was foiled by the Angel who also brought the entire gang to justice . During this period, while on a routine patrol, the Angel came across the murder scene of another new hero called the Phantom Bullet. Learning that the Bullet was Daily Bulletin reporter Allan Lewis, Halloway attended his funeral and vowed to avenge his murder . After stopping a bank robbery , the Angel soon went on the trail of jewel thief of Gabby Harris and soon learned that Harris had kidnapped his friend Mary Edwards. The Angel rescued Edwards and captured Harris and his gang, turning them over to the police . The Angel next came to the protection of Betty Martin, who's Aunt Emma was attempting to murder her in order to inherit the family fortune . Having learned that the Phantom Bullet's last case involved investigating a smuggling operation along the New York docks, the Angel paid a visit to a shady bar to investigate further. After roughing up the clientèle, he learned that the smuggling operation also might have involved smuggling people as well . The Angel next stopped a gang of crooks who kidnapped the daughter the owner of the Meltmore Steel Company in an attempt to blackmail the company's owner out of controlling stock of the company. Although captured himself, the Angel managed to free himself, save the girl, and bring the gang to justice . Later, Halloway travelled to Europe to investigate rumours that Vampires still existed in the town of Carlburg. Instead he found the Mad Doctor, an insane scientist who practiced grisly experiments on humans. Coming to the aid of a captured woman, the Angel prevented the Mad Doctor from transferring her mind into the body of an ape. In the resulting clash, the Mad Doctor was killed in an explosion . Returning to the United States, the Angel began investigating the disappearance of American scientist Professor Philo Zog, inventor of the robot known as Electro. His investigation tied the disappearance to Nazi spies and the Human Torch's old foe Dr. Manyac. During his investigation, the Angel would join forces with police woman Betty Dean, the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, his partner Toro and detective known as the Ferret. They discovered that the Nazi's were forcing Zog to create robot version of Manyac's Green Flames including a large robot under what was called Operation: Blockbuster. During the course of the battle, the Angel assisted in destroying the robotic Green Flames, and rescuing Professor Zog from captivity . Soon after the Green Flame incident, the Angel began investigating sightings of strange Ghouls that have been sighted rising from the Earth. Clashing with the creatures in their underworld domain, and attempt to rescue a woman who was made a prisoner. While the initial band of Ghoul's were killed in a lava flow , the Angel and the woman had to escape from the city of a larger variety of Ghoul who also existed in this underworld domain . Returning to New York City, the Angel continued his investigation into the murder of the Phantom Bullet. While on patrol, he had arrived just moments after the Ferret was murdered by Nazi spies (including Heinz Kruger) and left for dead in an alley. After rescuing Nosey, the Ferret's pet ferret, the Angel went to the Ferret's office to find it in blazes. Returning to his home, the Angel believed that there was a connection between the murders of the Phantom Bullet and the Ferret and became more determined than ever to determine what it all was about . Travelling to the Southern United States, the Angel came to the aid of the Piedmont heiress Shirley Smith who suddenly disappeared in the swamp near her home. The Angel discovered that the girl was captured by an old hag who lived in the swamp, freeing the girl while the old woman died in quicksand . After witnessing the murder of ex-con Happy Nolan, the Angel brings his former boss, Limp Savoy to justice for organizing the killing so that Happy could not testify against him in court . The Angel next investigated a mine where synthetic diamonds were being made foiling Professor Handley's plot to flood the diamond market with phony diamonds . 1941 Investigating the disappearances of men on "Fiery Mountain", the Angel encountered mad scientist Doctor Donaire, who was capturing physically fit men to find the ideal body to transfer his mind into. The Angel freed Donarie's slaves and destroyed his lab, the subsequent blast killing Donaire in the process . Back in New York, the Angel next investigated a series of bizarre bank robberies where the streets had been electrified, killing all around. The Angel discovered this was the work of Karl Schwab, who betrayed his country to assist the Nazis. Their crime wave, an attempt to overthrow the government, was then halted by the hero, resulting in Schwab's death . After a series of strange werewolf murders, Halloway's old medical colleague Dr. Lin called the Angel to investigate them. As the Angel, Halloway discovered that the werewolf killer was Robert Harrison, the assistant of Dr. Roberts, who had just returned to America from an expedition in Pakistan. The Angel revealed that their guide Singa was responsible for the transformation, cured Robert and battled Singa to the death . Dr. Lin then attempted to warn the Angel of the real reason why he had called the hero: That he was a target of the criminal Cat's Paw. However, before Lin could warn the Angel the Cat's Paw murdered him. The Angel then trailed the Cat's Paw, failing to stop her from murdering other targets before following her back to her hideout . Although discovered, the Angel managed to escape, learning that the Cat's Paw was murdering leading members of American industry, then prevented her from killing J.P. Thomas . Tracking the villain to her hideout, the Angel found that she had the major shareholder of American Aircraft Inc. as her prisoner, and that she was hired by the Nazis. After subduing the Cat's Paw and locking her in a room, the Angel rounded up her Nazi employers. When the hero went back for the Cat's Paw, he found that -- apparently shamed by her involvement with the Nazis -- jumped out a window that was a 500 foot drop into a patch of quicksand, seemingly killing herself . During this time, the Angel continued his investigation into the murders of Phantom Bullet and the Ferret. Having tracked down the name of the Ferret's last client, a woman who was now missing, the Angel made the connection to a Nazi spy named Major Kerfoot. Finding Kerfoot's home under government guard, the Angel soon realized that both heroes stumbled upon Nazis who had smuggled themselves into the country and were murdered. Combing the underworld, the Angel learned nothing. Questioning a Daily Bugle reporter, the Angel then learned that the spies were tied in to the murder of scientists who were recently killed, and that it had to do with a race to create more masked heroes. Following leads over the next few days, he tracked more Nazi spies to a warehouse where he witnessed Captain America attacking the spies. When spotting the leader of the spies attempting to leave, the Angel tried to stop him and was almost shot to death when Captain America blocked most of the bullets with his shield. Receiving only a flesh wound, the Angel was unable to stop the spy from escaping, and after brief introductions both he and Captain America parted company . Travelling to the port town of Sabatino, the Angel investigated the so called "House of Horrors" inherited by Jane Travers. The house was supposedly cursed and that visitors to it would either go mad or find death. The Angel investigated, and soon learned that tobacco king Richard Amegos was digging a secret gold mine under the house with an army of zombies, the Angel then shut down the operation, slaying Amegos and his zombies in the process . Learning that American planes were disappearing over the jungles of Panama, the Angel travelled there to investigate. He soon learned that the planes were being stolen by a Nazi scientist named the Mad Gargoyle who invented a magnetic beam to capture the planes. His planned to eliminate the number of planes that America might use, should they enter World War II, however the Angel slew the Mad Gargoyle and freed his prisoners and the captured planes . Teaming up with the Sub-Mariner in Bermuda, the Angel next investigated stories of the Nazombies, who were apparently undead Nazis. The duo soon discovered that they were really mortal men in costumes trying to use local superstition to cow the natives into serving the Nazi cause, and they put a stop to it . Back in New York City, the Angel soon investigated a series of strange murders learning that they were caused by a Nazi spy named the Python who was capturing American scientist to work for the Nazi war machine, and killing those who refused. The Angel tracked the Python to his Westchester hideout and brought him to justice . Travelling to Georgia, to investigate a strange series of murders near the supposedly haunted Amber Swamps, located near the home of millionaire C.J. Miller. The Angel soon discovered that the murders were not caused by ghostly means, but by Miller himself who had gone insane. When attempting to bring Miller to justice, the madman died at the hands of one of his own traps . The Angel returned home and began investigating the seemingly accidental death of Judge Lind, who died on the operating table when his surgery was interrupted by a man who was apparently insane. However, the Angel discovered this was all part of a plot by mobster "Sphinx" Henchel to get revenge against those who sent him to prison. Pursing Henchel, the mobster accidentally ran into the path of a speeding car and was fatally run over . The Angel later joined the Human Torch, Toro, the Patriot in celebrating a Consolidated Press reporter named Casey who was assigned to be a foreign correspondent to cover the war in Europe . Soon, the Sub-Mariner declared war on the surface world and launched a full scale assault with various other aquatic races. This led to global flooding, including a massive flood in New York City. The Angel joined other New York super-heroes in rescuing those effected by the flood until the Human Torch and Captain America were able to take down Namor . With the crisis averted, the Angel continued his regular detective work. Investigating the disappearance of American scientists near an island on the Pacific, the Angel stumbled upon a Nazi plot wherein the Nazis have tricked local natives to sacrifice the scientist to their gods. The Angel managed to use the tribes superstitions to convince them that he was one of their gods, and turn them against their Nazi manipulators and free the captured scientists . Returning to the United States, the Angel investigated the murders of various members of a publishing company that published Anti-Nazi Comics. To flush out the killer, the Angel posed as a comic book artist and was soon captured by Howards, a member of the staff and a Nazi supporter who wished to stop Anti-Nazi propaganda from being published. Forcing his captives to work on a Pro-Hitler comic book, the Angel broke free and beat Howards into submission before turning him over to the authorities . The Angel continued his investigation into the Nazi's who murdered Phantom Bullet and the Ferret. After months of searching, the Nazi spy master resurfaced and the Angel followed him the northern shores of New York. There he witnessed the Nazi spies meeting with rebel Atlanteans led by U-Man. This meeting was crashed by Captain America and Bucky. The Angel joined the fight, gunning down the spy he had been following for so many months. The battle soon ended when U-Man fled the scene, leaving the Nazi spies and his Atlantean minions to die. The Angel then recovered plans from the dead spy master that detailed an alliance between the Nazis and the Atleantean rebels and turned it over to Cap. They also found an Atlantean survivor whom Cap also took into custody . The Angel then began investigating Dr. Hyde when his painter friend Keene is blinded and is blackmailed to pay for the cure. The Angel then had Keene pay for the operation to learn Hyde's location and nab him. The Angel then forced Hyde to restore the vision of his other victims before turning him over to the police . Later, the Angel attends the execution of his old foe the Python. However, the villain manages to break free from the electric chair and attempted a massive prison break. When the Python took control of a National Guard tank, the Angel tossed grenades inside. Attempting to save the Python, the Python attempted to pull the Angel into the burning tank. Breaking free, the Angel escaped, leaving the Python to seemingly burn to death . The Angel next clashed with Armless Tiger Man, a German Luddite who was sent to America by the Nazis to destroy American factories, brining the saboteur to justice . On '''December 7, 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbour by the Japanese and the rebel Atlanteans secret attack on the eastern United States, the Angel decided to continue fighting crime in New York City. He continued to note the activities of other heroes who then came and went during this era in his Marvels Project . 1942 Investigating the strange murders at the estate of the late Jonathan Brown, the Angel discovered the so-called Phantom of the Bell Tower responsible for the murders was really Brown's deformed son who was locked away from public view who lashed out at his surviving family members . The Angel next began looking into the suspicious deaths of the owners of Dutton & Co. drug company. His investigation soon found that the killer was Robert Goom, whom the Dutton owners rail roaded on embezzlement charges who was attempting to get revenge against his former employers. The Angel forced a confession out of Goom before turning him over to the police . Travelling to Louisiana, the Angel witnessed General Henchel, an exiles Nazi, as he entered an old cathedral and found an ancient parchment that transformed him into a zombie. Raising an army of zombies, Henchel terrorized a nearby town until the Angel destroyed the parchment with the zombification spell, destroying Henchel and his undead army . Travelling further south, the Angel investigated stories of a Wolf-Man who had been killing people in the area. The Angel revealed the "Wolf-Man" to be a local Native American medicine man named Gonji who was attempting to covet his tribes supply of gold for himself . Back in New York, the Angel next began investigating a serial killer who drained his victims completely of their blood. The Angel tracked down the killer, a man named Reisel who suffered from a rare disease that required him to replenish his blood. After saving Reisel's most recent victim, the killer died of his disease . Later, the Angel failed to stop the apparent sleepwalking suicide of a military official who was dishonourably discharged from his position. Investigating the circumstances surrounding the man's death, the Angel traced it back to a sleep cult that was operated by Hutsu a Japanese spy who used the cult in order to hypnotize Americans to provide him with government secrets. With the aid of military officials, the Angel helped shut down the operation . Travelling to San Francisco, the Angel began investigating the appearance of Japanese spies who were attempting to learn the location of a new American bomber factory. His investigation brought him to a funeral home run by a Nazi spy named Gondor who smuggled Japanese spies into the country by having them hide in the coffins of American soldiers who were killed in the war . The Angel next began investigating the legend of the Ogre of Mills Forest, rescuing a couple from the Ogre and his legion of magical Boboes, sending the Ogre to his death . Back in New York, the Angel next investigated the deaths of prominent doctors and captured their killer: Dr. Foster, a deformed and discredited doctor who was fired years ago for charging patients money at a free clinic . Next, the Angel saved the mayor of New York from an undead zombie. The Angel then traced the creature to it's creator Dr. Merkel, who died in the ensuing clash, and destroying his Legion of the Dead before they could contaminate the city water supply . In Florida, the Angel was on a manhunt to stop Professor Torture, a madman who kidnapped the children of wealthy families and threatened to torture them if his ransoms were no paid. The Angel tracked Torture to his hideout aboard a derelict ship and killing him in battle and rescuing his latest victim . Investigating reports of a Vampire located in a nearby coastal town, the Angel clashed with ancient vampire Count Vicaro, imprisoning the creature until dawn, killing the Vampire . The Angel next went after the Firing Squad a gang of crooks led by dishonourably discharged soldier Danny Poll. The Angel stopped Poll and his gang before he could kill Major Cullen and his wife, whom he held responsible for his discharge from the military. Failing to stop Poll's gang from shooting his former lover, the Angel quickly rounded the gang up after Poll, horrified by his former lover's death, walked into the path of gunfire himself . While investigating the death of government officials by poisoning, the Angel soon discovered the poisonings were carried out by a Geman Bundist named Krauss who coated his parrot Polly's beak in poison to kill the officials without a trace. Captured by Krauss, the Angel broke free and left Krauss to be pecked alive by his collection of birds, whom Krauss had purposely starved . With a rash of government secrets going missing, the Angel began investigating Marvello the Mystic, exposing him as a Japanese spy who used an ancient Indian potion that put his victims in his hypnotic command . After a series of strange deaths involving bees, the Angel tracks the bees back to Mr Crown, a bee expert who was fired from his job for carrying out an unauthorized test that led to the death of one of his students. Bent on revenge against those who fired him, he used chemically treated cigarettes to send his bees into a frenzy. The Angel used his own chemicals against Crown who was swarmed by his own bees. Unable to handle the pain, Crown shot himself in the head . Travelling to Connecticut, the Angel investigated the disappearance of local fishermen. He soon discovers that the missing fishermen were victims of the Fish Brothers, amphibious freaks of nature who were grafting the skin of their victims onto their own bodies so that they could pass for human. The Angel broke free from captivity and brought the Fish Brothers to justice . 1943 1944 1945 Post-War After the War, the Angel was one of a number of heroes who formed the Penance Council, the ruling body of the V-Battalion, dedicated to fighting the rise of dictatorships and other threats to the world. Modern Era However, after a bystander was killed during an adventure, the Angel hung up his cape, unwilling to risk more innocent lives in his fight against crime. Still wishing to combat lawlessness and seeking a way to atone for his mistake, he eventually founded a group of trained assassins, the Scourges, who would ambush and murder costumed criminals. Eventually, these acts of vigilantism were stopped by Captain America. To escape USAgent, he faked his own death. Thomas Halloway had retired and lived on a sprawling estate in Los Angeles . Years later, Captain America and a much younger time displaced Two-Gun Kid came to the home of Thomas Halloway's grandson Jason Halloway passing along his grandfather's copy of the "Marvel's Project" and Two-Gun's old pistols and mask. While not implicitly stated, these events would infer that Thomas Halloway passed away, however there are no facts to substantiate his current fate . References